Metallic railway tie



Nov. 2 1925- l,562,458

E. R. LEHMAN METALLIC RAILWAY TIE Filed June 25, 192.5

ATTbRNEYS Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

U NIT ED ST A T'YES PATENT OFFICE.

EDGAR R. LEHMAN, OF JOHNSTQWN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN-O R TO BETHLEHEM STEEL COMPANY.

MErALnIc RAILWAY TIE.

Application filed June 25, 1925. Serial No. 39,406.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR 'R. LEHMAN, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Johnstown, county of Cambria, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railway Ties, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to railways of the light type, for example, mine or construction railways, and it has for an object to provide means whereby a tie or clamp may be readily attached to or detached from rails of various flange widths.

A further object of my invention is'to provide a cam gripping clip which shall fit rail flanges of variable widths and which shall be capable of ready fastening and unfastening.

Apparatus made in accordance with my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tie showing my improved form of rail holding clips attached thereto;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail view showing operative relations of the adiustable rail holding clip;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of my improved clip member;

Fig. 5 is an edge view of the clip member; and,

Fig. 6 shows a rail clamp with my improved clip applied thereto.

Referring now to the drawings more in detail, I show a tie 10 made of rolled metal and preferably flanged or ribbed to secure strength and lightness. Fixed clips 11 are secured to the tie for the purpose of engaging one'fiange of a rail, and adiustable clips 12 are connected by pivots 13 to the tie and are disposed in opposed relation with respect to fixed clips 11 in order to engage the other flange of a rail. The adjustable clips function to engage flanges of varying widths so that'rails of different sizes may be secured in position withrespect to a tie.

Each adjustable clip 12 is preferably sector-like in contour and is provided with a radial cam surface 15 adapted to engage the outer edge of a rail flange and with a downwardly-facing lateral cam surface 15 extending outwardly from the radial cam surface 15 and adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange. The radii ofthe arcuate lateral cam surface and of the radial cam surface with respect tothe axisof the pivot 13 increase from one side 16 to the other side 17. The arcuate lateral cam surface 15 is inclined downwardly in the direction of increasing'radius and it is inclined upwardly in an outward direction.

The pivot pin 13 is located adjacent to the side 16 of the clip so that, when the latter is turned to cause the side 16 to move toward-a plane parallel to the fixed clips, ample space will be provided for the insertion and removal of arail.

In Fig. 6. I'showmy improvedclip means 12 applied to a rail clamp 20 of a well known type, the clamp 20 comprising a member; passing u'nderneaththe flange of the rail 21 and having one end portion 22 bent up to form a hookto receive the base ofan extension rail 28, the head of the latter fitting between :the head and a flange of the rail 21. The clip 12 being adjustable, as hereinbefore set forth, it will be apparent that a clamp provided with such a clip may be used in connection with main rails of varying flange widths, 'with extension rails of varying heights, or both.

From the structure described, it will be apparent that an adjustable clip 12 may be moved aboutits pivot 13 so as to firmly grip rail flanges of varying widths within the limits of the construction. The wider rail flanges are, the nearer the point of engage ment will be to the side of the clip adjacent to the pivot; and the narrower suchfianges are, the closer the pointof engagement of the cam surface approaches the side of the clip of longer radius of curvature. In view of the fact that the clip has two cam surfaces, one, 15, adapted to engage the outer edge of a rail, and the other, 15, adapted to engage the top surface of a rail, it is possible, with my construction, to firmly grip rails of varying base widths and of varying flangetop surface slopes. In most cases,the flange of a rail will be gripped by both cam surfaces; however, depending upon the slope of the upper flange surface and the width of the rail base, only one of the cam surfaces may come into gripping relation. In order to facilitate engagement and disengagement of a movable clip, such clip is preferably provided with an upstanding lug 18 at the side of longer radius of curvature, whereby the clip may be hammered in either direction for purposes of engagement and disengagement.

While I have shown one form of my improved clip means applied in two different ways, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is sus ceptible of various other changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination, with a railway rail, a metallic member, and means for holding the metallic member in place with respect to one flange of the rail, of a movable sector-like clip pivoted to the member and in opposed relation with respect to said means for connecting the other flange of the rail to the member, said movable clip having a downwardly-facing arcuate lateral cam surface to engage the top surface of a rail flange, the radius of said arcuate cam surface with respect to the pivot increasing from one side to the other of the clip and the surface of said cam being inclined down- Wardly in the direction of increasing radius.

2. The combination, with a railway rail, a metallic member, and means for holding the metallic member in place with respect to one flange of the rail, of a movable clip pivoted to the member and in opposed relation with respect to said means for connecting the other flange of the rail to the member, said movable clip having a downwardly facing lateral arcuate cam surface to engage the top surface of a rail flange, the radius of said arcuate cam surface with respect to the pivot increasing from one side to the other of the clip and the surface of said cam being inclined upwardly in an outward direction and downwardly in the direction of increasing radius.

3. The combination, with a metallic railway tie, of fixed clips carried by the tie and each adapted to engage a flange of a rail, and movable sector-like clips pivoted to the tie and in opposed relation to the fixed clips for engaging the other flanges of the rails, each of said movable clips having a downwardly-facing lateral cam surface of variable radius adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange and said cam surface being inclined downwardly in the direction of increasing radius.

4. The combination, witha metallic railway tie, of fixed clips carried by the tie and each adapted to engage a flange of a rail, and movable sector-like clips pivoted to the tie and in opposed relation to the fixed clips for engaging the other flanges of the rails, each of said movable clips having a downwardly-facing lateral cam surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange and a radial cam surface arranged inwardly of the lateral cam surface and adapted to engage the lateral edge of a rail flange, the radii of said cam surfaces with respect to the pivot axis increasing from one side to the other of the clip. I

5. The combination, with a metallic railway tie, of fixed clips carried by the tie and each adapted to engage a flange of a rail, and movable sector-like clips pivoted to the tie and in opposed relation to the fixed clips for engaging the other flanges of the rails,

each of said movable clips having a downwardly-facing lateral cam surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange and a radial cam surface arranged inwardly of the lateral cam surface and adapted to engage the lateral edge of a rail flange, the radii of the cam surfaces with respect to the pivot axis increasing from one side to the other of the clip and the lateral cam surface being inclined downwardly in the direct-ion of increasing radius and upwardly in an outward direction;

6. The combination, with a metallic railway tie, of fixed clips carried by the tie and each adapted to engage a flange of a rail, and movable sector-like clips pivoted to the tie and in opposed relation to the fixed clips for engaging the other flanges of the rails, each of said movable clips having a downwardly-facing lateral arcuate cam surface adapted to engage the top surface of a rail flange, a radial cam surface arranged inwardly of the lateral cam surface and adapted to engage the lateral edge of a rail flange, the radii of the cam surfaces with respect to the pivot axis of the movable clip increasing from one side to the other of the clip and the lateral cam surface being inclined downwardly in the direction of increasing radius, and an abutment portion carried by the side of the sector-like member adjacent to-the ends of the cam surfaces of larger radius, whereby the clip may be hammered either for tightening or loosening the latter with respect to a rail flange.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature this 13th day of June, 1925.

EDGAR R. LEHMAN. 

